[extropy-chat] Video of Fighting Humanoid Robots!

Adrian Tymes wingcat at pacbell.net
Mon Aug 23 03:42:23 UTC 2004


--- Emlyn <emlynoregan at gmail.com> wrote:
> I'd like to see how far this stuff ("toy" humanoid
> robots) is
> informing the area of medical prostheses for the
> disabled. If I were a
> quadriplegic or similar, I'd be looking at these
> 'bots and rubbing my
> hands together (urr) with glee. And the timeframes
> that Adrian
> mentions seem realistic; I'd be thinking I could be
> mobile again
> within a decade.

So far?  Not much.  Robots that can walk are
relatively new, and the human brain can already
handle the software needs.  I'd say the other way
around is more likely at this time: good arms and legs
have been developed for prostheses; these can also be
used, with some programming, for androids.

When the entire shell is ready, then we may see some
wonder if quadriplegics could make use of "walking
wheelchairs".

> We'll know we're moving in the right direction when
> we see the ads for
> the televised grudge match... "This Saturday Night
> on MechWars...
> Reeve vs Hawking! See them slug it out 'bot style,
> in the Beauty vs
> Brains contest of the millenium!"

Better: when field trials begin for remote-controlled
androids to replace infantry, which have been the core
of Western armed forces from before their formal
classification as "infantry" right up to the present.
(Tanks may rule the field, planes the sky, and ships
the sea...but by themselves, they all suck at taking
cities, which is usually the ultimate objective.)

Or when you can buy an anthropomorphic robot for
conducting high-dexterity tasks in high-hazard areas
(where the main reason not to send a human is that the
human might get injured or killed, but either the task
is known to be too complex for simple robots, or the
task is not known and requires a highly adaptable
tool...and humans have all kinds of practice adapting
their bodies to various tasks).



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